Building industry puts more projects on hold

Published: 10 August, 2011

UK: The latest data from Glenigan reveals the first annual increase of shelved schemes in over a year, as companies decide to place projects on hold amidst economic stagnation and poor business confidence.

The underlying value of projects being placed on hold over the three months to July has increased by 41% compared to the same period of last year.

Private housing in particular has experienced a 134% annual increase in the underlying value of postponed projects, accounting for 32% of the total.

With the house market facing an uncertain few months, developers are perhaps pausing to complete current projects before starting new developments. Similarly, retailers are postponing more schemes in the face of tough high street conditions.

Regionally, this increase had affected Scotland and Wales the most. Both saw the underlying value of postponements more than double over the year. By contrast, London was the only part of the UK to see a drop in the value of shelved projects.

Private housing and retail have experienced two of the largest increases over the three months to July compared to the previous three months. Annually, the value of cancellations has actually decreased, the report stated.

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